An essential cog in London's machine, this area is resplendent with curios (Old Curiosity Shop, Sweeney Todd's), public squares full of depressed lawyers and legions of serious-looking people being integrated into The System. The ghosts of London's past hover around Temple and the Strand, where you'll also find Aldwych Film for brunch and a flick.

Sometimes you need a bit of respite from the restless city, never more so than when you're near the eye of the storm. Holborn is the ugly sister of Covent Garden with none of the theatres, shops and cafes that make that area so interesting to a tourist. Instead there's a monstrous road system with traffic angrily heading towards Oxford Street. Just off one of the main arteries however, is a little oasis of calm. Lambs Conduit Street itself is to be recommended as a whole; a pub at one end, a couple of cafes to rest at with tables scattered under a tree and chamber music to be had at the other end in Conway Hall. What got me intrigued enough to go into Casanova's Treats (apart from the saucy name) was the pretty exterior and the smell of grilled lamb coming out of the door. Turns out it's run by Greeks, who know a thing or two about cooking kebabs. Two skewers worth of the tenderest flesh landed on the table before me as I drank in the peace outside, with some rice, pitta, humus and salad as the supporting act. It was gone in a flash.